Chapter 428: Scheme of the Brothers
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Yu ManLou's body was trembling. Right now, the ideal scenario he envisioned of Justice killing Ling Tian was not as simple as it seemed. He had labored tirelessly for that scenario, pulled his hair and beard repeatedly, all waiting for Ling Tian's death. That would be the moment when Sky Bearing was thrown into chaos and would be ripe for the picking of the Yu Family. Once the Yu Family had a foot in both Northern Wei and Sky Bearing, together with the backing of Han TieXuan from Western Han, everything would be Yu ManLou's to rule under the heavens!
Yu ManLou had estimated an eighty percent chance of success! If everything worked out, he had confidence he could wipe away the old and destroy the Shui Family before the date of the sixty-year battle, after which he would stabilize his hegemony over the next two years!
As such, he did not even hesitate to sacrifice the niece he had treasured greatly since childhood, Yu BingYan, as well as argue against his second brother, almost to the point of falling out. To him, for this final objective, anything and everything could be sacrificed!
However, never in his dreams did he envision that at such a critical point, the Above Heavens would suddenly show their faces and even face off, wounding Justice and themselves! This would mean that the problem of Ling Tian would not be solved for the moment. If Justice's injuries were serious enough, Ling Tian could potentially escape the half year limit, and by then, his problems would be huge!
At this point, Yu ManLou wanted to vomit blood!
All of his plans were based on the demise of Ling Tian, so if the latter was really able to escape for this half year and return to Sky Bearing… right now the Ling Family was on tenterhooks, not willing to offend Yu ZhanShui and Yu ZhanKong, but if Ling Tian survived, that fellow would never give him face! Those that he thought needed to be killed would be given no quarter...
If that time came, then all his plans would go up in smoke! Such an ending was something Yu ManLou could not accept at all!
Yu ManLou paced for two rounds, looking as though he had something to say, but upon looking at the faces of his brothers, he could only force the words down. His second brother was considerably good to Ling Tian because of his daughter, and if not for the fact that his own son Yu LiuYun had died in an accident, his brother would have long ago fallen out with him. As for his third brother, god knows what sort of mythical potion Ling Tian had fed him, for him to subconsciously move towards Ling Tian's camp...
Yu ManLou could only resort to breathing in deeply to curb the anger in his heart before asking, "What about the successors to those people that got assassinated?"
Yu ManTang inclined his body a little in response, "We've already put some capable and experienced officials in those posts, so there won't be many problems."
Yu ManLou let out an 'oh' of assent, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly clapped his hands, letting out a crisp sound.
A black-robed man appeared in the Martial Pointer Pavilion in front of the three brothers after the clap sounded, respectfully handing over a piece of white paper scribbled full of words.
Yu ManLou indifferently asked, "What was the result?"
The black-robed man replied in a respectful manner, "Reporting to Family Head, I've done a background check on the few officials who replaced those assassinated ones. My preliminary conclusion right now is that there are six of them who were sent here by the Water of Heavenly Wind, whereas the rest have unknown histories. All of these people used to belong to the Northern Wei Imperial Court."
"Ah?!" Yu ManTang and Yu ManTian let out a gasp of shock. "Water of Heavenly Wind?"
"Indeed it's the Shui Family! So it's like this!" Yu ManLou let out a chilling smile. "I nearly pinned the blame on the Ling Family instead!" Yu ManLou slowly stepped forward as a smile full of killing intent surfaced on his face. "Since the Shui Family wants to be so unkind, then don't blame me for not upholding my morals! Send my order: in two days, under cover of night, all of these new officials are to be executed, none left alive!"
"Elder brother, this isn't too appropriate, is it?" Yu ManTang furrowed his brows and spoke. "There are over forty of such people that we replaced, how could they all be part of the Shui Family? If we happen to silence the wrong people, then…?"
Yu ManLou only replied with a cold laugh, "Killing a wrong person? So what? A person who has big ambitions will never bother about the little trifles. Even if a person is really wronged, it's only considered to have served fully to our Yu Family's goal of hegemony!"
Yu ManTang and Yu ManTian remained silent. They did not know what to say, and even if they could retort, would that be of any use?
Looking at their unsightly expressions, Yu ManLou could only snort in disappointment. He coldly remarked, "Right now, our Yu Family has already opened quite a few battle fronts, and whether it is purposefully or having chanced upon it, along with the agitation from outside parties, we have now become laughingstocks to be ridiculed! To the point that we now do not have any paths of retreat and can only move forward. Did you think LiuYun's death was so accidental? I know that you two are not happy with my actions, whether it be the marriage of niece BingYan or the targeting of the Ling Family. I too know that it is unreasonable, but everything that I've done is all with the family's future in mind. I hope that no matter how much dissatisfaction you have in your hearts, you will just listen to me! All of us here are the children of the Yu Family, and compared to the survival of our family, nothing else is more significant! Not to mention killing a few innocents, even if there is a need to raze the entire Bright Jade City, I would not hesitate! As the saying goes, 'Ten thousand bones turn to ashes when a general rises in fame', that's the scenario in front of our eyes now!"
A sharp light passed through the eyes of Yu ManTang and ManTian, and they both uniformly lowered their heads. Both of them secretly disapproved of Yu ManLou's argument. It was too extreme to put the survival of the family above anything and everything else! If one reached that stage, anyone could be sacrificed, any immoral matters done, even Yu BingYan and the Ling Family being sacrificed was not an impossibility, on the premises that the family would benefit!
Had the situation reached the point that Yu ManLou was mentioning?
However, not only were the two of them secretly having their own conjectures, Yu ManLou was also calculating inside his head. Now that the Above Heavens had suddenly shown their hand, causing the number one expert in the legends, Justice, to suffer injuries, the Ling Tian that he was chasing was in no more danger. That was similar to allowing a tiger to return to its den! Would that not destroy all the efforts he had put in place earlier on? Furthermore, he had to take into account the strength of Above Heavens. Them coupled with the financial capabilities of the Xiao Family meant that there would be no one under the heavens that could match them, destined to be a powerhouse against the Yu Family!
No doubt, the Xiao family would undoubtedly be the greatest threat stopping the Yu Family from achieving hegemony!
But that was for the future, right now, the most important thing was to focus all their attention on dealing with Ling Tian! His ability to deal damage was still the most troublesome right now, thus if Justice was unable to do the job of finishing off Ling Tian, then the Yu Family would take over! So long as the objective was met, there was no need to care how it was achieved, or what methods were used!
But, his own brothers clearly had some special feelings towards Ling Tian, thus this mission could not be handed over to them to participate, or else not only would he not get their aid, they might even ruin things! Then….? Hmm, this would even kill two birds with one stone!
"Second brother, there's something which I cannot trust anyone to do it, so I'll require you to personally make a trip." Yu ManLou put on a grave face, "Right now, this concerns the life and death of our Yu Family, as well as our plans of hegemony, thus you have to complete this to the best of your abilities. Only then can the Yu Family not have any fears of trouble at our rear."
Seeing the grave expression on his brother's face, Yu ManTang also began to panic. "Elder brother, please give me word. I will surely complete it to the best of my abilities, even if I will need to sacrifice my life in exchange!"
Yu ManLou let out a sigh, as he cast his eyes out of the window, a loneliness in his voice. "That year, I conversed quite a bit with the head of the Lei Family, Lei ZhenTian from the Moon Deity Empire. The Lei Family originally wanted to be stationed in the Heavenly Star Continent, but if they were to come in, then the balance between the powers in Heavenly Star would also be broken, hence I've always rejected them! However, now that our Yu Family is being eyed at by the Xiao, DongFang, Ling, and Shui Family, there is a chance that we might be defeated under the combined internal and external problems in our family! The moment we are inattentive, then we'll lose everything immediately!
Yu ManTang lowly assented, his brows furrowing in thought.
"Because the strength of our family currently is too spread out, once things turn awry, it will hard to protect ourselves." Yu ManLou continued, "As such, we urgently require a new power to insert themselves, to completely disrupt these muddied waters and attract the attention of the other powers, so our Yu Family can safely protect ourselves as we pull out. Only then can we remain as stable as Mount Tai itself! Even if we fail to divert their attention, with the inclusion of a new power, they would also incite the wariness of the others. At that time, our chance would arrive! With the strength of the Xiao Family far outstripping our original expectations, we need someone else to balance the influence of power, and the Lei Family is the best bet. Hence I require this to be done, but if someone else were to step forward, firstly I cannot be assured, and secondly, the weight of the person's words might be insufficient. However, if I were to go there myself, there will not be anyone to hold the fort in this place. As such, only second brother can make the trip, which will give impact to Lei ZhenTian."
Yu ManTang retained his furrowed brows and replied, "Elder brother, is this not inappropriate? Firstly, what sort of name do I have to invite the Lei Family over? Even if the authority has been handled by you, I just can't make the decisions like that, can I? Secondly, what sort of benefits do we have to fork out, or terms that we have to agree to for the Lei Family? Times are different now, it is us who are doing the invitation, and we even want to use their power to balance the unfathomable Xiao Family. If we do not show enough sincerity, then there won't be a conclusion! Thirdly, it's easier to invite the devil than to send him away. Once we extricate ourselves from this mess, then how should we deal with the Lei Family? If we allow them to stay, they will only end up as a blight, and we cannot prevent this from happening at that time. This is akin to driving off the hungry wolves at your front door, but allowing the tiger to enter from your rear door! If anything goes awry during this process…"